Modular heat transfer system

ABSTRACT

A modular air handler is adapted for installation in a racking assembly behind palletized product. The air handler operates to move air through the adjacent layers of palletized product upon placement of the palletized product in the adjacent space. The air handler can be deactivated in order to prevent unnecessary air flow when no palletized product is present in the adjacent space. A number of the modular air handlers may be provided for a racking assembly, such that individual pallet bays may be activated or deactivated as palletized product is deposited or withdrawn from the various pallet bays of the rack.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/974,601, entitled MODULAR HEAT TRANSFER SYSTEM, filed May 8,2018, which claims the benefit under Title 35, U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/502,923, entitled MODULARQUICKFREEZE SYSTEM and filed on May 8, 2017, the entire disclosures ofwhich are hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to palletized product warehousing andtreatment. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to spacing,stacking and heat transfer structures used in a warehouse that iscapable of altering and/or holding steady the temperature of a quantityof palletized product.

2. Description of the Related Art

Freezer warehouses are known in which large pallets of items includingmeats, fruit, vegetables, prepared foods, and the like are frozen inblast rooms of a warehouse and then are moved to a storage part of thewarehouse to be maintained at a frozen temperature until their removal.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,783,047 entitled “Rack-Aisle Freezing System forPalletized Product”, filed on Sep. 8, 2010, the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby explicitly incorporated by reference herein, relates toan improved system for freezing food products. Shown in FIG. 1 is alarge warehouse 2 that can be used to freeze and maintain perishablefoods or like products. Large pallets of items, including meats, fruits,vegetables, prepared foods, and the like, are sent to warehouse 2 to befrozen employing a system whereby the palletized foods are frozen onstorage racks.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the interior of warehouse 2, in which rows ofpalletized product are shown such that pallet assemblies 52 abut chamber6. As shown in FIG. 3, rows of racking 14 (see also FIG. 8) arepositioned between aisles 10 and chambers 6. Each chamber 6 is enclosedby a pair of end walls 15 and top panel 17. Spacers 20 (FIGS. 5-7)separate respective rows of cases 22 to create a palletized productstack in the form of pallet assembly 52 which can be disposed and sealedagainst the exterior of racking 14 (FIG. 3) via forklifts 18 (see, e.g.,FIGS. 3 and 4).

Air handlers 8, e.g., chillers or heaters (FIG. 2) provided in theinterior of warehouse 2 produce conditioned, e.g., cold or warmed airand maintain the temperature of ambient air within the warehouse spaceat a desired temperature, e.g., +55° F. to −30° F. Thus, for purposes ofthe present disclosure, “air conditioner” refers to an air handler whichcan produce air conditioned to a desired state, e.g., heated or cooled.While warehouse 2 could be utilized to either freeze, cool or thaw aquantity of product housed in cases contained on pallet assemblies 52,the remaining description will use the example of a warehouse freezer,it being understood that similar arrangements and principles will beapplied to a warehouse utilized to thaw product, with the air handlercomprising a heater as opposed to a chiller.

Adjacent pairs of racking structures 14 (FIGS. 2-4) define a pluralityof adjacent airflow chambers 6 (FIGS. 2 and 4) having air intakeopenings on opposite sides thereof and a plurality of air outlets havingair moving devices, such as exhaust fans 12, on top panels 17, whichcause conditioning air to be drawn into chambers 6 through the airintake openings in racking 14 and to then exhaust into the warehousespace. The plurality of airflow chambers 6 are each defined by a pair ofend walls 15 and top wall 17 having one or more air outlets and exhaustfans 12 associated therewith (FIG. 3). Pallet assemblies 52 (FIG. 5) arepressed against the intake openings in racking 14 such that a seal isformed between the pallets and the intake openings via side peripheryseals, a bottom periphery seal, and a top periphery seal. The sealstogether define each respective intake opening. Freezing air is drawnthrough air pathways 16 (FIGS. 2, 4, and 5) within the palletizedproduct in a direction towards chamber 6 to thereby quickly freeze theproduct. As shown in FIG. 5, spacers 20 may be placed between rows ofcases 22 of product in an attempt to provide air pathways 24 throughwhich airflow can enter chamber 6.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,919,142 entitled “Swing Seal for a Rack-Aisle Freezingand Chilling System”, filed on Mar. 29, 2011, the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby explicitly incorporated by reference herein, discloses atop periphery seal 40 (which may be referred to herein as a “swingseal”) useable to seal an intake opening as described above and whichautomatically adjusts to the height of pallet assembly 52 as illustratedin FIG. 6. As illustrated in FIG. 6, pallet assembly 52 (comprised of aplurality of cases 22 stacked on spacers 20 and pallet 4) can bepositioned along pallet guide 56 and pressed against airflow opening 54such that a seal is formed between pallet assembly 52 and airflowopening 54 via side periphery seals, a bottom periphery seal and anautomatically adjustable top periphery seal surrounding airflow opening54. With such a construction, chilling or freezing air is drawn throughair pathways 16 formed through pallet assembly 52, as illustrated inFIGS. 2, 4 and 5.

FIG. 5 illustrates predicate spacer 20 which is formed in an undulating“egg carton” configuration. As illustrated in FIG. 7, individual cases22 can crush under the weight of the product contained therein and theproduct contained in cases stacked directly above to cause overlap ofcases 22 with a spacer 20 and prohibit airflow between product cases 22positioned on opposite sides of the obstructed spacer 20. Undulatingspacers 20 are particularly susceptible to obstruction due to droopingor sagging cases 22 due to the inconsistent support structure caused bythe “hill and valley” configuration of such spacers. FIG. 7 illustratescase crushing and drooping at various sides and levels of palletassembly 52; however, this phenomenon is, in practice, more prevalentlyseen with respect to the spacers 20 separating lower rows of cases 22,as the bottom of pallet assembly 52 contains the heaviest cumulativeload of cases 22 stacked thereon.

In the above described installation, utilizing “egg carton” spacers 20,heat transfer from chilled ambient air in warehouse 2 to the productscontained in cases 22 is effected through forced convection which isfacilitated by the irregular shape of egg carton spacers 20 to allowairflow in all directions through pallet assembly 52. Alternativespacers such as wood slat spacers may also be utilized to separate cases22 on pallet 4.

For maximum effectiveness of thermal transfer between the conditionedair in warehouse 2 and the product contained in product cases 22, it isdesirable to have air within the spacers continuously refreshed andreplaced with conditioned air from warehouse 2. One way to achieve thisair movement is to use fans 12 (FIGS. 3 and 4) to drive airflow throughand around pallet assemblies 52.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a modular air handler adapted forinstallation in a racking assembly behind palletized product. The airhandler operates to move air through the adjacent layers of palletizedproduct upon placement of the palletized product in the adjacent space.The air handler can be deactivated in order to prevent unnecessary airflow when no palletized product is present in the adjacent space. Anumber of the modular air handlers may be provided for a rackingassembly, such that individual pallet bays may be activated ordeactivated as palletized product is deposited or withdrawn from thevarious pallet bays of the rack.

In one form thereof, the present disclosure provides a pallet rackassembly including a pallet rack having a plurality of bays, and amodular air handler assembly received in at least one of the pluralityof bays. Each bay has a bay width sized to receive a palletized productassembly including a pallet with a plurality of stacked cases receivedthereon, a bay height sized to receive the palletized product assembly,and a bay depth sized to receive at least two of the palletized productassembly, such that each bay defines a rearward bay and a forward baysized to receive the palletized product assembly. The air handlerassembly includes: an enclosure having a first airflow aperture facingtoward the forward bay and a second airflow aperture facing away fromthe forward bay, the first airflow aperture of the enclosure sized to besubstantially or completely blocked by the palletized product assemblywhen the palletized product assembly is positioned in the forward bay;and an air handler in fluid communication with the second airflowaperture of the enclosure, such that the air handler is operable todrive air through the palletized product assembly via the first airflowaperture when the air handler is activated.

In another form thereof, the present disclosure provides an air handlerassembly, including an enclosure comprising a plurality of panelsdefining an airflow pathway between a first airflow aperture and asecond airflow aperture, the plurality of panels configured to admit anairflow at one of the first and second airflow apertures and expel theairflow at the other of the first and second airflow apertures, one ofthe first and second airflow apertures formed on a substantially uprightsurface of the enclosure, and the other of the first and second airflowapertures formed on an angled surface of the enclosure, the angledsurface having an angled orientation relative to the horizontal andupright directions. The assembly further includes an air handler influid communication with the angled airflow aperture and operable todrive the airflow along the airflow pathway when the air handler isactivated.

In yet another form thereof, the present disclosure provides a method ofeffecting forced-air transfer through palletized product, the methodincluding: loading an air handler assembly into a rearward pallet bay ofa rack assembly, such that a first airflow aperture of the air handlerassembly faces a forward pallet bay and a second airflow aperture facesrearward of the rack assembly, with an airflow pathway formed betweenthe first and second airflow apertures; loading a palletized productassembly into the forward pallet bay such that the first airflowaperture is substantially or completely blocked by the palletizedproduct assembly; and activating an air handler of the air handlerassembly, the air handler in fluid communication with the second airflowaperture such that the step of activating drives an airflow through thepalletized product assembly and along the airflow pathway.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention,and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and theinvention itself will be better understood by reference to the followingdescription of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, where:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a warehouse incorporating a heattransfer system in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic top view of a heat transfer warehouseincorporating the system of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the interior of the warehouseillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective, end view of two rows of racking separated by anairflow chamber;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a desired airflow through a palletassembly;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating loading of pallet assembliesinto the racking illustrated, e.g., in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a pallet assembly incorporating apredicate spacer;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a portion of a racking structureaccommodating 24 pallet assembly receiving spaces on each side thereof;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of a pallet assembly in accordance withthe present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a rack assembly in accordance with thepresent disclosure, in which air handler assemblies are positioned inrearward bays and palletized product assemblies are positioned inadjacent forward bays;

FIG. 11 is another perspective view of the rack assembly shown in FIG.10, illustrating the air handler assemblies positioned in the rearwardbays;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an air handler assembly made inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is another perspective view of the air handler assembly shown inFIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a side elevation view of the air handler assembly shown inFIG. 12, illustrating an exemplary airflow pattern therethrough;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of another rack assembly in accordancewith the present disclosure, in which air handler assemblies arepositioned in rearward bays and palletized product assembly arepositioned in adjacent forward bays;

FIG. 16A is another perspective view of the rack assembly shown in FIG.15, illustrating the air handler assemblies positioned in the rearwardbays;

FIG. 16B is a perspective view of the attaching mechanisms that clampthe air handler assembly to the racks;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of an air handler assembly made inaccordance with the present disclosure, in which telescoping framemembers are shown in a compact configuration;

FIG. 18 is another perspective view of the air handler assembly shown inFIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is another perspective view of the air handler assembly shown inFIG. 17, in which the telescoping frame members have been reconfiguredfrom the compact position to an extended position;

FIG. 20 is another perspective view of the air handler assembly shown inFIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a side elevation view of the air handler assembly shown inFIG. 17, illustrating an exemplary airflow pattern therethrough;

FIG. 22 is a side elevation, cross-section view of the air handlerassembly taken along the line 22-22 of FIG. 17, illustrating anattaching mechanism made in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a perspective, exploded view of the attaching mechanism shownin FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is another perspective, exploded view of the attaching mechanismof FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of two of the air handler assemblies ofFIG. 17, in which the air handler assemblies are nested for optimalstorage and transportation; and

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of two pairs of the air handler assembliesof FIG. 17, in which a first pair of the assemblies have telescopingmembers in extended positions to attach to a tall rack, while a secondpair of the assemblies have telescoping members in compact positions toattach to a short rack.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. Although the exemplification set outherein illustrates an embodiment of the invention, the embodimentdisclosed below is not intended to be exhaustive or to be construed aslimiting the scope of the invention to the precise form disclosed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides air handler assemblies 102, 302, shownin FIGS. 10-14 and 15-26 respectively, which can be modularly installedand activated within a rearward bay of a “2-deep” rack assembly 100 inorder to induce a flow of air through a pallet assembly 52 located inthe adjacent forward bay of the rack assembly 100. As described indetail below, individual air handler assemblies 102, 302 may beactivated when a palletized product assembly 52 is placed in theadjacent forward bay, and deactivated when the palletized productassembly 52 is absent from the adjacent forward bay. In this way, airhandler assemblies 102, 302 may be used to efficiently and effectivelyinduce a heat transferring airflow through and among cases 22 ofpalletized product contained on assemblies 52, while avoiding anyunnecessary airflow through empty pallet bays.

1. Palletized Product Environment, Assembly and Arrangement.

Pallet assemblies 52 form a part of warehouse installation 2 depicted,e.g., in FIG. 2. The general structure and components of warehouse 2 aredescribed above in the background section of this document. A portion ofthis description will be repeated here to facilitate an understanding ofthe present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 2, warehouse 2 includesrack rows 26 separated by chambers 6 and aisles 10. As illustrated inFIGS. 3 and 4, racks 14 are sized for receiving a plurality of palletassemblies 52. Racking 14 can be sized to receive a different number ofpallet assemblies, as necessary. Different assemblies of racking 14 areillustrated, e.g., in FIGS. 3, 4, 8 and 10. As described in furtherdetail below, “2-deep” racking 100 (shown in FIGS. 10 and 11) may beused interchangeably with racking 14 to facilitate the deployment ofmodular air handler assemblies 102, 302 (best shown in FIGS. 11 and16A).

As depicted, e.g., in FIG. 9, pallet assemblies 52 include pallet 4, onwhich a plurality of cases 22 are stacked, with spacers 30 interposedbetween layers of cases 22. Spacers 30 are provided to facilitateairflow across the entire downstream extent of pallet assemblies 52,thereby ensuring heat transferring airflows to all of cases 22 among thevarious layers stacked upon pallets 4. Exemplary spacers and otherracking systems and structures which may be used in conjunction with thepresent disclosure are described in U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. 2014/0273793, filed Jan. 28, 2014 and entitled HEAT TRANSFER SYSTEMFOR WAREHOUSED GOODS, and in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2014/0273801, filed Mar. 15, 2013 and entitled SPACER FOR A WAREHOUSERACK-AISLE HEAT TRANSFER SYSTEM, the entire disclosures of which arehereby explicitly incorporated herein by reference.

With pallet assemblies 52 arranged in rows and columns on racks 14 orracks 100, warehouse installation 2 can be utilized to raise, lowerand/or maintain the temperature of a quantity of product contained incases 22 to a desired set point. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, aisles10 are sufficiently wide to allow forklifts 18 to access palletassemblies 52. Typical aisle width is between 5 feet to 14 feetdepending on the type of lift equipment. Pallet assemblies 52 eachinclude a pallet 4 at the bottom thereof. As used in this document,“pallet” is used to denote a standard warehouse pallet of box sectionopen at least two ends (some pallets are called 4-way pallets due tofork openings on all 4-sides) to allow the entry of the forks of aforklift so that a palletized load, i.e., pallet assembly 52, can beraised, moved about and set down easily.

Racks 14 define airflow openings 54 fluidly connected to a chamber 6,which, in the exemplary embodiment illustrated, is enclosed by a pair ofend walls 15 and top panel 17. Pallet assemblies 52 are disposed andsealed against the air intake openings formed in racks 14, as describedin detail below. Referring to FIG. 2, air handlers 8 are operablyconnected to (e.g., disposed within) warehouse space 2 so that airhandlers 8 can condition (e.g., heat or cool) the ambient air inwarehouse space to a desired temperature. In the event that warehousespace 2 is utilized to freeze product contained in cases 22, airhandlers 8 may be chillers which produce air on the order of −5° F. to−30° F. In the event that warehouse space 2 is utilized to thaw productcontained in cases 22, air handlers 8 may be heaters which produce airon the order of 30° F. to 60° F. Additional air handlers, illustrativelyfans 12, circulate ambient air conditioned by air handlers 8 such thatair conditioned by air handlers 8 flows through pallet assemblies 52 andthrough airflow openings 54 formed in racks 14. Moreover, rack assembly100 may be used for various heat transfer operations including freezing,thawing, chilling, heating or tempering of product contained withincases 22. Air handlers 8 may be provided in any configuration consistentwith any of these operations, and may be operable to condition the airwithin warehouse space 2 in any desired manner as required or desiredfor a particular application, including conditioning for a particulartemperature and/or humidity.

In one exemplary embodiment, pallet 4 defines a standard 40 inch by 48inch rectangular outer perimeter. With such a pallet, the upper andlower surfaces of spacer 30 illustrated in FIG. 9 will both besubstantially rectangular in shape and about 40 inches by about 48inches. Stated another way, the upper and lower surfaces are bothnominally rectangular and nominally measure about 40 inches by 48inches. In certain alternative embodiments, spacers 30 will be slightlyoversized with respect to pallet 4, e.g., by having an overhang of up toan inch relative to the perimeter of pallet 4. These embodiments arealso considered to be sized and shaped “about congruent” to the outerperimeter of pallet 4. Alternative pallet sizes, such as a standardEuropean pallet may be utilized. Spacers 30 may be about congruent withthe pallet and cases with which the spacers 30 are paired.

As illustrated in, e.g., FIG. 9, spacers 30 may have longitudinalairflow channels 38 formed therethrough. Airflow channels 38 facilitatea generally longitudinal, directional flow of air through the spacerfrom an input at one side of the palletized product assembly 52 to anoutput at an opposite side. Further discussion of exemplary longitudinalchannels and spacer arrangements can be found in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2014/0273793, filed Jan. 28, 2014 and entitled HEATTRANSFER SYSTEM FOR WAREHOUSED GOODS, and in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2014/0273801, filed Mar. 15, 2013 and entitled SPACERFOR A WAREHOUSE RACK-AISLE HEAT TRANSFER SYSTEM, the entire disclosuresof which are hereby explicitly incorporated herein by reference.Although spacers 30 provide enhanced airflow and heat transferperformance characteristics as compared to predicate spacers 20 (FIGS.5-7) and are used in an exemplary embodiment of pallet assembly 52, itis contemplated that predicate spacers 20 may also be used in palletassembly 52, as required or desired for a particular application.

2. Individualized Air Handlers for Designated Pallet Bays

Turning to FIG. 10, rack 100 is illustrated with a two-column, four-rowarray of forward pallet bays, each of which is shown occupied bypalletized product assemblies 52. A corresponding array of rearwardpallet bays is shown occupied by air handler assemblies 102 (FIG. 11)and/or air handler assemblies 302 (FIG. 16A). In this regard, rack 100can be considered a “2-deep” rack structure because it is amendable toreceiving two pallets, one behind the other, along a loading/unloadingor “X” direction as shown. As described in detail below, rack 100 may bea commercially available rack configuration combined with air handlerassemblies 102 and/or 302 to modularly and selectively induce airflowthrough one or more palletized product assemblies 52 for any individualpallet bay or combination of pallet bays.

In an exemplary embodiment, rack 100 may be used in warehouse 2, shownin FIG. 2, in place of the single deep rack 14 shown in, e.g., FIGS. 3and 4. For example, two sets of racking 100 may be placed “back toback,” with or without air chamber 6 formed therebetween (FIG. 4). Anaisle 10 (FIG. 3) accesses the forward bays on both sides of theback-to-back racking structure, such that forklift 18 can access thepallet bays of each rack 100 from respective aisles 10. The back-to-backarrangement, and the use of air chamber 6, is not required for rack 100when used in conjunction with air handler assemblies 102, 302, becauseair handler assemblies 102, 302 can induce the required airflow througheach individual pallet bay without the use of the sealed plenum andcentralized exhaust fans 12 shown in FIG. 4. Thus, in some applications,rack 100 may be used in a free standing configuration within warehouse2.

Moreover, air handler assemblies 102, 302 may be used with respectivepalletized product assemblies 52 independent of rack 100. For example,air handler assembly 102, 302 may placed free-standing within awarehouse or other conditioned environment, and palletized productassembly may then be engaged with first airflow aperture 136 and swingseal 40 as described herein. Fan or air handler 126 may then beactivated (e.g., by controller 130 as described below) to induce an airflow through and around palletized product assembly 52, thereby inducingheat transfer between the goods contained within cases 22 and theambient air. Additional air handler assemblies 102, 302 may be placedthroughout the conditioned environment and used to effect heat transferfor additional palletized product assemblies 52 in a similar fashion,scaled according to the needs of the application.

For purposes of the present discussion, rack 100, air handler assemblies102 and 302, and other associated structures will be discussed in thecontext of a Cartesian coordinate system shown in each of FIGS. 10through 14. In use, rack 100 is typically placed on a level surfacewithin warehouse 2 such that palletized product assemblies 52 and airhandler assemblies 102, 302 sit generally upright and level withinrespective pallet bays of rack 100. In this context, an “upright”orientation refers to a generally vertical orientation along the Z axisshown FIGS. 10 through 14. A “horizontal” or “level” orientation refersto an orientation along the X and/or Y directions. As illustrated, e.g.,in FIG. 10, the Y direction will be considered as a lateral or“left-right” direction from the perspective of an operator facing thearray of pallet bays of rack 100, e.g., from aisle 10 (FIGS. 2 and 3).The X direction is a depth or “front-to-back” direction, with the“front” or forward portion of rack 100 being the portion closest to theoperator, while the “back” or rearward portion is the portion furthestfrom the operator.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, spatial terms such as “forward,”“rearward,” “upright,” “vertical,” “horizontal” and “level” are used forconvenience and to establish relative positions, locations, andconfigurations with respect to other structures and a typical systemuser. Such terms are to be understood in this relative context and arenot to be taken as absolute. For example, a structure which is “upright”in typical use is considered to be generally perpendicular to a“horizontal” structure, but such as “upright” structure need notnecessarily be vertical with respect to gravity at all times. Statedanother way, an “upright” structure can still be referred to as“upright” within the context of the present disclosure even if thestructure is laid on its side. Similarly, a “forward” structure maystill be referred to as such even if the perspective shifts (e.g., if anoperator faces the structure from the opposite side).

In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 10, each pallet bay is shown todefine a width, height, and depth sized to receive a standard pallet 4with cases 22 stacked thereupon to a standard height. For example, thepallet bays of rack 100 may be sized to accommodate a pallet 4 that isrectangular in shape and measures about 40 inches by about 48 inches, asnoted above, with a plurality of cases 22 stacked thereupon up to aheight of about 96 inches. In order to use standard, commerciallyavailable 2-deep racking 100, air handler assembly 102, 302 may occupy afootprint similar to or smaller than a standard-size pallet 4, i.e., 40inches by 48 inches, and may have a height not exceeding a standardheight for palletized product assembly 52, i.e., 96 inches. Thus, thedepth along the X direction of rack 100 is sufficient to accommodate acombination of air handler assembly 102, 302 in the rearward bay andpalletized product assembly 52 in the forward bay, or may accommodatetwo palletized product assemblies 52. Similarly, a combination of twoair handler assemblies 102 and/or 302 in the forward and rearward baysis possible, such as for storage.

Turning now to FIGS. 12 and 13, air handler assembly 102 is illustratedin detail from forward and rearward perspectives, respectively. Assembly102 includes frame 104 with a plurality of enclosure panels 116, 118,120, 122 which, taken together, create an enclosure having an airflowpathway extending between first airflow aperture 136 (illustratively, afront, intake opening as shown in FIGS. 12 and 14) and second airflowaperture 138 (illustratively, a discharge opening including fan 126, asshown in FIGS. 13 and 14). In an exemplary embodiment, the enclosureformed by enclosure panels 116, 118, 120, 122 is substantially sealedexcept for airflow apertures 136 and 138. As further described below,the airflow pathway through the enclosure facilitates a forced airflowthrough palletized product assembly 52 by operation of air handler 126(FIG. 13).

Air handler assembly 102 includes frame 104, which includes uprightframe members 106, laterally extending frame members 108 andfront-to-back frame members 110. These frame members 106, 108 and 110are joined together (e.g., by welding or mechanical fastening) to form arectangular cuboid shape as best seen in FIGS. 12 and 13. This cuboidconfiguration allows multiple air handler assemblies 102 to beefficiently stacked upon and next to one another in, e.g., a storagespace or transport truck. In an exemplary embodiment, base supportmembers 114 are provided along a front-to-back direction at the left andright sides of frame 104, and are sized to allow the forks of forklift18 underneath frame members 108 and base enclosure panel 118 (FIG. 12).This facilitates the retrieval, movement and placement of air handlerassemblies 102 via forklift 18.

Frame 104 further includes angled frame members 112 which extenddownwardly and rearwardly from the topmost and forward frame member 108,as best shown in FIG. 13. Frame members 112 provide support surfaces forthe fixation of angled rear enclosure panel 122 to frame 104. Similarly,side enclosure panels 116 are supported by and fixed to respectivefront-to-back frame members 110, upright frame members 106, and angledframe members 112. A generally upright rear enclosure panel 120,disposed beneath the angled rear panel 122, is fixed to and supported bya pair of laterally extending frame members 108 and a pair of uprightframe members 106, as shown if FIG. 13. Finally, a generally horizontalbase enclosure panel 118 is fixed to and supported by two lowerlaterally extending frame members 108 and the left and rightfront-to-back frame members 110 as best shown in FIG. 12. In anexemplary embodiment, the components of frame 104, the enclosure panels116, 120, 122, and the other components of air handler assembly 102 maybe made of galvanized steel, stainless steel, powder coated steel orsimilar materials suitable for use in the food or human-consumableindustries. Fan 126 and other components may be rated for washdown duty,as required or desired for a particular application.

Together, side enclosure panels 116, base enclosure panel 118 and angledrear enclosure panel 122 cooperate to bound first airflow aperture 136in conjunction with the adjacent frame members. As illustrated in FIGS.12 and 14, first airflow aperture 136 has a generally vertical andupright orientation which can sealingly engage a correspondinglyvertical and upright surface of palletized product assembly 52. Inparticular, palletized product assembly 52 is sized to substantially orcompletely block airflow aperture 136 when positioned adjacent to orabutting air handler assembly 102, as is the case when palletizedproduct assembly 52 occupies a forward bay of rack 100 and air handlerassembly 102 occupies the adjacent rearward bay (FIGS. 10 and 11).

Second airflow aperture 138 is formed on the angled surface of theenclosure defined by angled rear enclosure panel 122, as illustrated inFIGS. 13 and 14. In particular, this surface has an angled orientationrelative to the horizontal and upright directions, illustrativelydefining angle θ (FIG. 14) with respect to the vertical (i.e., “Z”)direction. In an exemplary embodiment, angle θ is between 20 and 60degrees, such as about 40 degrees.

In the illustrated embodiment, fan 126 is disposed within second airflowaperture 138 and creates an angled flow of outlet air AO (FIG. 14) whichis substantially perpendicular to the angled planar surface of rearenclosure panel 122. This angled air flow directs outlet air upwardlyand rearwardly from within the enclosure of air handler assembly 102,and into vacant space within frame 104 but outside the enclosure. Thisangled airflow profile allows outlet air to be directed rearwardly awayfrom any structures stacked top of frame 104, such as another upper airhandler assembly 102 as shown in FIG. 11. The flow is also directedupwardly away from any obstruction which may be behind frame 104. Forexample, in some arrangements two racks 100 may be positioned in aback-to-back arrangement with fans 126 of respective air handlerassemblies 102 facing one another. By angling the flow upwardly, thesetwo fans avoid detrimental competition with one another.

The angled airflow of outlet air AO provided by fan 126 has two vectorcomponents, namely, horizontal vector component AOH and vertical vectorcomponent AOV. The relative proportion of these vector components iscontrolled by angle θ, such that a reduction in angle θ increases thehorizontal component AOH and decreases the vertical component AOV, andvice versa. Angle θ may be varied in order to vary the vector componentsAOH and AOV according to the needs of a particular application, such asthe location of any structures which may impede airflow in the vicinityof air handler assembly 102, and other considerations as required ordesired for a particular application.

In the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 12 and 14, swing seal 40 isprovided in an upper portion of first airflow aperture 136. Swing seal40 is pivotally joined at pivot points 42 to an upper and forward end offrame 104, with a sealing surface that sits proud (i.e., forwardly) ofaperture 136 as best seen in FIG. 14. Swing seal 40 is pivotable along aswing arc S (FIG. 14), and may be rearwardly pivoted into the enclosureof air handler assembly 102 when contacted by a pallet assembly 52 (see,e.g., FIG. 10). Swing seal 40 ensures that a low leakage top seal ismade with pallet assembly 52 regardless of variability in palletassembly height, thereby ensuring the substantial or complete blockageof aperture 136 by palletized product assembly 52. In particular, swingseal 40 pivots about a horizontal axis and substantially spans the spacebetween adjacent upright frame members 106. Swing seal 40 is also spacedabove base enclosure panel 118 leaving the remainder of aperture 136exposed, while substantially blocking the remaining upper portion ofaperture 136 as illustrated in FIG. 12. Further details of theconstruction, use and function of swing seal 40 may be found in U.S.Pat. No. 8,919,142, entitled “SWING SEAL FOR A RACK AISLE FREEZING ANDCHILLING SYSTEM” and filed on Mar. 29, 2011, the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby explicitly incorporated by reference herein.

Additional sealing technologies may be employed in conjunction with airhandler assembly 102 in order to minimize or eliminate air leakagearound pallet assemblies 52, and instead drive maximum airflow throughassemblies 52 via airflow pathways (e.g., through the airflow channels38 of spacers 30 shown in FIG. 9). Examples of such sealingtechnologies, including brush seals which may be used along the left andright upright frame members 106 bounding first airflow aperture 136, aredescribed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0086485,entitled “HEAT TRANSFER SYSTEM FOR WAREHOUSED GOODS” and filed Sep. 30,2016, the entire disclosure of which hereby explicitly incorporated byreference herein.

As noted above, fan 126 serves as an air handler operable to drive airthrough palletized product assembly 52 via first airflow aperture 136when the air handler is activated, such as by applying power to a fanmotor 132 (FIG. 13). In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 14, fan 126is used to drive outlet air AO through second airflow aperture 138,while a corresponding flow of inlet air AI is drawn through firstairflow aperture 136 (e.g., after passing through palletized productassembly 52). This configuration creates a vacuum or negative pressurewithin the enclosure formed by enclosure panels 116, 118, 120 and 122.Alternatively, fan 126 may be reversed to create a positive pressurewithin the enclosure, which would reverse the airflow and “push” airthrough palletized product assembly 52 rather than “pulling” airtherethrough. Moreover, while fan 126 is one exemplary air handlercompatible with air handler assembly 102, it is contemplated that otherair handling technologies may be employed as required or desired for aparticular application, such as blowers, ducted systems, and the like.

Turning now to FIGS. 15-25, an alternative air handler assembly 302 andits constituent components are illustrated. Except as described below,air handler assembly 302 is similar in structure and function to airassembly 102 described above, and reference numerals of assembly 302 areanalogous to the reference numerals used in assembly 102, except with200 added thereto. Elements of assembly 302 correspond to similarelements denoted by corresponding reference numerals of assembly 102,except as otherwise described herein. All systems and structures useablein conjunction with assembly 102 are also useable with assembly 302except as otherwise described herein.

However, air handler assembly 302 includes a modified frame 304 which isboth more compact and more adjustable as compared to frame 104 of airhandler assembly 102, such that air handler assembly 302 providesenhanced flexibility of integration with rack assembly 100 (FIG. 15) aswell as a compact and “nestable” configuration for storage and/orshipping which allows a greater number of units to be contained within agiven space or volume, e.g., a shipping trailer, container, or warehousestorage space.

As best seen in FIG. 17, air handler assembly 302 includes frame 304having base frame members 306 with an upright (e.g., vertical)orientation and positioned to bound the left and right sides of uprightairflow aperture 336, similar to upright frame members 106 of frame 104(FIG. 12). Unlike frame 104, however, frame 304 provides upright framesliders 307 which are slideably received within the hollow tubularopening defined by frame members 306 (FIG. 22). Thus, while uprightframe members 306 form a portion of the base portion of frame 304,upright frame sliders 307 form a telescoping portion of frame 304 whichis slideably and adjustably connected to the base frame portion. Thisslideable connection allows air handler assembly 302 to be modularlyadjusted to connect to cross beams 350 in a tall pallet bay, as shown atthe left portion of FIG. 26, or to more closely spaced cross beams 350in a shorter pallet bay, as shown at the right side of FIG. 26.

Referring still to FIG. 17, swing seal 40 is mounted to the telescopingframe portion of frame 304 via front-to-back frame members 310B (FIGS.17 and 19) fixed to upright frame sliders 307. Therefore, adjustment ofthe telescoping frame portion also adjusts the height of airflowaperture 336 as shown by a comparison of FIGS. 17 and 19, illustrating alower height H1 and a taller height H2 respectively. This automaticallyaccommodates differences in the height of pallet assembly 52 that areexpected with differences in the height of the bay to which air handlerassembly 302 is installed, as further described below.

In one example, a portion of racking 100 shown in FIG. 26 may beadjusted to create tall pallet bays having a bay height H4 designed toaccommodate proportionally tall pallet assemblies 52 (FIG. 15). Airhandler assembly 302 is installed to this tall pallet bay by adjustingthe telescoping portion of its frame 304 to attach its upper framemembers 308, 310B to the upper cross beam 350 of the pallet bay andthereby accommodate the tall pallet bay. This adjustment also creates arelatively tall airflow aperture 336 having a height H2 (FIG. 19), whichensures that the upper edge of the top row of cases 22 engages swingseal 40. This creates a tight seal for air flow, while also ensuringairflow through and among the cases 22 of the tall pallet assembly 52.

Conversely, for a shorter pallet assembly 52, upright frame sliders 307are adjusted to create a height H1 of opening 336, as shown in FIG. 17,which is lower than height H2 (FIG. 19). The telescoping frame can thenbe connected to cross beam 350 bounding the upper portion of the shorterpallet bay having height H3 (FIG. 26). This lowered configuration of thetelescoping portion of frame 304 also lowers swing seal 40 to create ashorter airflow opening 336 having height H1, as shown in FIG. 17, suchthat swing seal 40 can still engages the upper edge of a relativelyshorter pallet assembly 52 and thereby provide a good seal with airflowthrough and among the cases 22 of the short pallet assembly 52.

The enclosure provided by air handler assembly 302 is similar in overallstructure and function as compared to the enclosure of air handlerassembly 102, providing for a substantially airtight seal around frame304 except for the upright airflow opening 336 (which may be an intakeor exhaust) and the angled airflow opening 336 (which is used for theopposite function as opening 336). However, in the enclosure of airhandler assembly 302, provision is made for the above-describedadjustable height of frame 304, as well as being modified forcompactness and nestability of multiple assemblies 302, as furtherdescribed below.

Turning now to FIGS. 17 and 18, frame 304 includes a pair of subframes305 attached (e.g., by welding) to respective upright frame members 306.Subframes 305 generally extend along a front-to-back and top-to-bottomdirection, i.e., in an XZ plane in the context of the Cartesiancoordinate system provided in the figures. Subframes 305 each provide amounting surface for side enclosure panels 316, which are fixed torespective subframes by, e.g., fasteners, welding or adhesives. Baseenclosure panel 318 is oriented substantially horizontally and forms ajunction with side enclosure panels 316 to enclose the bottom surface ofairflow aperture 336. Rear enclosure panel 320 is also fixed to baseframes 305, as seen in FIG. 18. Together with additional enclosurepanels 322A, 322B and 324 of air handler extension assembly 327 (shownin FIGS. 17 and 18 and further described below), enclosure panels 316,318 and 320 form the sides, bottom and back of the enclosure for thebase portion of frame 304.

For the telescoping frame portion of frame 304, telescoping enclosure325 provides the top of the enclosure assembly and allows for extensionand retraction of the side and back enclosures formed by panels 316 and320 respectively. As best shown in FIGS. 18 and 20, telescopingenclosure 325 includes a slideable rear enclosure panel 325B positionedadjacent and/or abutting rear end enclosure panel 320. Enclosure 325further includes a pair of side enclosure panels 325C which arepositioned adjacent and/or abutting respective side enclosure panels316. Finally, enclosure 325 includes top enclosure panels 325A and 325B.In the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 18 and 20, top enclosure panel325A is angled to facilitate smooth airflow through the enclosure of airhandler assembly 302.

Telescoping enclosure 325 may be formed as a folded and/or welded pieceof metal or plastic sheet material to promote air tightness anddimensional stability. In the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 18 and20, telescoping enclosure 325 is fixed, such as by welding or fasteners,to the upper frame members 310B at the left and right sides, as well asto the laterally extending frame member 308. Telescoping enclosure 325may remain unattached to upright frame sliders 307 to allow sliders 307to be received within upright frame members 306 (FIG. 22) withoutinterference from enclosure 325. Thus, as frame sliders 307 are moved upand down, enclosure 325 moves up and down with the rest of thetelescoping portion of frame 304, while a continuous air barrier ispresented by enclosure 325 and the adjacent and/or abutting panels ofthe enclosure assembly of the base portion of frame 304.

Turning now to FIG. 21, air handler extention assembly 327 protrudes andextends rearwardly from frame 304, and in particular, assembly 327extends rearwardly from the vertical YZ plane generally defined by rearenclosure panel 320 (FIG. 18) and the rear uprights of subframes 305 towhich panel 320 may be affixed. As best seen in FIG. 18, extensionassembly 327 includes angled rear enclosure panel 322B which extendsrearwardly and downwardly from a junction with a transverse frame member303 extending laterally between the left and right subframes 305. Rearenclosure panel 322B and its supporting frame members 312B define angleθ with the YZ plane (FIG. 22) in similar fashion to rear enclosure panel122 and its supporting angled frame members 112 (FIG. 14). In anexemplary embodiment, angled frame members 312B are fixed to the largerframe structure 304 via transverse frame member 303 (FIG. 18), and panel322B is fixed to frame members 312B. Supported within angled rearenclosure panel 322B is air handler 126, which is the same air handlerused in air handler assembly 102 described above. Air handler 126defines airflow aperture 338, as best shown in FIG. 21.

Air handler extension assembly 327 further includes lower angled framemembers 312A which extend from the rear and lower end of upper angledframe members 312B back to the YZ plane formed by the rear uprights ofsubframes 305. Another lateral frame member 303 (FIG. 18) may beprovided to fix frame members 312A to the larger frame 304. In anexemplary embodiment, all junctions between frame members are fixed bywelding, though of course other fixation methods may be employed. Alower angled rear enclosure panel 322A, shown in FIG. 16B, is supportedby frame members 312A. A pair of side-rear enclosure panels 324 enclosethe generally triangular opening formed between frame members 312A, 312Band their adjacent subframes 305. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG.18, these side rear enclosure panels 324 include a triangular portionwhich extends along a front-to-back direction in the XZ plane, as well agenerally rectangular portion extending in a YZ plane between framemembers 312A, 312B and the upright of subframe 305.

Therefore, enclosure panels 322A, 322B, and 324 substantially encloseair handler extension assembly 327, such that its interior volumecooperates with the interior volume within frame 304 to define theenclosed space within air handler assembly 302. Similar to air handlerassembly 102 described above, this enclosed space receives anddischarges airflow only through the upright airflow aperture 336 and theangled airflow aperture 338, while all other possible airflow pathwaysare substantially or completely blocked by the enclosure panelsdescribed above.

Turning again to FIG. 18, air handler extention assembly 327 and itsconstituent components define an overall width which is less than thewidth of upright airflow aperture 336. As best seen in FIG. 25, thisallows air handler extension assembly 327 of a first air handlerassembly 302 to be received between upright frame members 306 and intothe enclosure of the base frame 304 of a second, adjacent air handlerassembly 302. In this “nested” arrangement, air handler assemblies 302may be lined up one next to the another and nested such that only thewidth of frame 304, excluding the rearward extension of assembly 327,taken up by each neighboring assembly 302 within a collection of nestedassemblies. This allows a greater number of assemblies 302 to becontained within a given volume, such as for storage and transport, thanwould otherwise be possible if the full width of each assembly 302needed to be accommodated.

3. Use of Individualized Air Handlers for Modular Operation

As noted above, air handler assemblies 102, 302 may be used inconjunction with 2-deep rack 100 to create a modular system of forcedair transfer through palletized product assemblies 52, in which each airhandler assembly 102, 302 provides a dedicated air transfer mechanismfor a given pallet bay. With rack 100 installed in a desired location,such as a cooling or thawing warehouse 2 (FIG. 1), air handlerassemblies 102 and/or 302 may be installed into one or more rearwardpallet bays as shown in FIGS. 10, 11, 15 and 16 and described above. Inan exemplary installation, forklift 18 (FIG. 3) is equipped with apantograph in order to allow for a “reach” by the forks into therearward bay position, as is commonly performed with palletized productin 2-deep storage configurations. This long-reach forklift 18 places airhandler assembly 102 or 302 in the rearward position of a desired palletbay with first airflow aperture 136 facing forward into the adjacentforward bay, and the second airflow aperture 138 facing rearwardly awayfrom the forward bay.

In some applications, air handler assembly 102 or 302 may be used as astand-alone unit independent of any racking. For example, air handlerassembly 102 or 302 may be placed on a floor adjacent to a palletizedproduct assembly 52, and activated in order to induce a forced airflowthrough assembly 52 as described herein.

With air handler assembly 102 placed in the desired location, frame 104may be secured to the adjacent support surface of rack 100 (e.g.,horizontal racking beams) in order to prevent air handler assembly 102from being pushed rearwardly or otherwise jostled out of place whenpalletized product assembly 52 is loaded into the forward bay. Suchsecurement may be accomplished by angle brackets connected to basesupport members 114 of frame 104 and bolted to the adjacent supportmembers of rack 100, for example. In an exemplary embodiment, suchbrackets may be positioned to take advantage of existing pallet supportholes typically found in commercially available 2-deep racking 100.Alternatively, securement of air handler assembly 102 to rack 100 may beaccomplished by any other suitable method, such as via bolts, pins,clamps, and the like.

In one exemplary embodiment, air handler assembly 302 may be secured torack 100 via upper and lower pairs of attachment mechanisms 360, asshown in FIGS. 17 and 22. Attachment mechanisms 360 each includefixation slider 362 which is slideably received within an adjusterhousing, which in the illustrated embodiment may be the tubular voidformed within lower frame member 310A and upper frame member 310B,respectively. To this end, fixation slider 362 may include a sliderblock portion 366 which is sized to be slideably received within thetubular void and to slide along the longitudinal axis L formed by framemembers 310A, 310B. A fixation arm portion 364 of fixation slider 362protrudes outwardly from the frame member 310A or 310B via slider slot372. As best shown in FIG. 24, each slider slot 372 may include awidened portion which allows slider block 366 to be lowered into thelongitudinal void within each frame member 310A, 310B. This widenedportion of slot 372 may then be partially (or entirely) covered bylaterally extending frame member 308 such that fixation slider 362becomes slideably captured within its respective frame member 310A or310B.

A slider adjuster 370, illustratively a long bolt having a threadedshaft and a bolt head, is received through a central aperture formed inadjuster fitting 376 (FIGS. 22 and 23), and threadably received by acorrespondingly threaded aperture 368 formed through slider block 366 offixation slider 362 (FIGS. 23 and 24). The central aperture in adjusterfitting 376, the threaded aperture 368 of slider block 366, and thelongitudinal axis defined by slider adjuster 370 are all coaxial withlongitudinal axis L defined by the longitudinal void of the adjusterhousing. As slider adjuster 370 is rotated with the bolt head bearingagainst adjuster fitting 376, fixation slider 362 moves longitudinallyalong longitudinal axis L, with fixation arm 364 advancing either towardor away from a bearing surface 309 of laterally extending frame member308 (FIG. 24). In alternative embodiments, slider adjuster 370 and itsassociated structures may be replaced by other linear actuators, such asair cylinders or the like. In an exemplary embodiment, bearing surface309 is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of theadjuster housing in order to create an abutment surface with an adjacentcross beam 350, as shown in FIG. 22 and further described below.

In use, air handler assembly 302 is installed to rack 100 at a rear baythereof, as shown in FIG. 16A. Assembly 302 may be rested upon, andsupported by a lower cross beam 350, as best shown in FIG. 22. While sosupported, air handler assembly 302 may be advanced rearwardly untilbearing surface 309 abuts the adjacent vertical surface of frame 350.The telescoping frame may then be advanced upwardly by sliding uprightframe slider 307 out of upright frame members 306 until front-to-backframe member 310B abuts the lower surface the upper cross beam 350.Frame member 310B may then be slid backwardly, as needed, until bearingsurface of 309 of laterally extending frame member 308 abuts theadjacent vertical surface of the upper cross beam 350. In one exemplarymethod of operation, the telescoping frame is raised by forklift ormechanical means.

With laterally extending frame members 308 both in place and abuttingtheir respective cross beams 350, attachment mechanisms 360 are actuatedby slider adjusters 370 to draw each respective fixation slider 362forwardly until an angled surface 378 thereof engages a portion of crossbeam 350 (i.e., a leg of the U-shaped beam) as shown in FIG. 22. Angledsurface 378 faces toward the adjacent horizontal surface of therespective frame member 310A or 310B, and is configured such that aprogressively narrowing gap is formed between angled surface 378 and theadjacent surface of frame member 310A or 310B. Therefore, as angledsurface 378 advances further forwardly, it vertically “squeezes” orpinches the portion of cross beam 350 between fixation slider 362 andframe member 310A or 310B (i.e., along the Z-direction). In addition,cross beam 350 becomes squeezed or pinched in a horizontalforward-to-back direction (i.e., along the X-direction) between angledsurface 378 and bearing surface 309 of laterally extending frame members308.

In an exemplary embodiment, attachment mechanisms 360 are provided ateach corner of frame 304, i.e., the upper left, upper right, lower leftand lower right corners as viewed by an operator facing upright opening336. Further, as shown in FIG. 16B, a U-shaped cross beam 350 may beused to support both a lower and upper air handler assembly 302,engaging the upper right and upper left corners of the lower air handlerassembly 302 and the lower left and lower right corners of the upper airhandler assembly 302.

Palletized product assembly 52 may then be loaded into the adjacentforward bay or rack 100 in front of air handler assembly 102 or 302,such as by operation of forklift 18. The rearward surface of palletizedproduct assembly 52 is abutted against airflow aperture 136, and maypivot swing seal 40 along pivot direction S (FIG. 14) in order to form atop seal. When fully installed, palletized product assembly 52substantially or completely blocks aperture 136 and forms asubstantially air tight seal therewith. In one embodiment, airflowaperture 136 has a width of about 30 inches, such that a standard-widthpalletized product assembly (i.e., 40 inches or 48 inches depending onorientation) can be expected to fully block aperture 136 even withoutperfect side-to-side alignment of palletized assembly 52.

With the air handler assembly 102 and/or 302 and palletized productassembly 52 placed within rack 100 and sealingly engaged with oneanother, air handler 126 may be activated to drive an airflow throughthe palletized product assembly 52 and along the airflow pathway formedbetween airflow apertures 136, 336 and 138, 338 of air handler assembly102, 302. Where the ambient air around rack 100 is maintained at atemperature differential compared to palletized product assembly 52,such as with freezing air and above-freezing product contained withincases 22, the air flow induced by air handler 126 or 336 can effect heattransfer between the ambient air and palletized product within cases 22,there by promoting a thorough, evenly distributed, and rapid heattransfer throughout the product contained within palletized productassembly 52.

Additional air handler assemblies 102 and/or 302 may be installed withinadditional pallet bays of rack 100 as required for a particularapplication. Advantageously, any number of air handler assemblies 102,302 may be installed depending on how many individual palletized productassemblies 52 are desired for use with rack 100. Moreover, as palletizedproduct assemblies 52 are removed from various pallet bays, the adjacentair handler assemblies 102, 302 may be deactivated and/or removed inorder to avoid unnecessary energy expenditure and/or space utilization.In some applications, the row of floor-position bays in rack 100 may beleft vacant to allow for driveways for forklifts 18 (FIG. 3) or otherwarehouse equipment, or to provide staging areas for palletized product52 as they await final positioning with rack 100 or withdrawal fromwarehouse 2. Advantageously, the use of air handler assemblies 102, 302allows for the lower row to be vacated without substantialreconfiguration of rack 100, while still allowing the upper bays toremain functional.

As noted above, the rectangular cuboid shape of air handler assemblies102 facilitates storage, transport, and selective deployment of anynumber of air handler assemblies 102 to a warehouse or other facility.Frame 104 of air handler assembly 102 facilitates stacked storage ofmultiple air handler assemblies 102 in a relatively small space, such asa room or corner of a warehouse such as warehouse 2. When needed, adesired number of air handler assemblies 102 may be retrieved from thestorage area and loaded into rearward pallet bays as needed. When theforced air operation on palletized product assemblies 52 is complete,air handler assemblies 102 may be withdrawn from rack 100 and placedback into storage.

In one exemplary embodiment, as exemplified by air handler assembler 302shown in FIG. 25, air handler extension assembly 327 is narrower thenopening 336 in the lateral and vertical dimensions, such that theentirety of air handler extension assembly 327 may be received withinthe adjacent enclosure of an adjacent air handler assembly 302. A seriesof air handler assemblies 302 may be nested in this fashion to create anappropriate aggregate width of connected assemblies 302 for a givenstorage or transport space, such as a warehouse or shipping container.When ready for use, each air handler assembly 302 may be retrieved bywithdrawing the air handler 126 together with air handler extensionassembly 327 from within the enclosure of the adjacent air handlerassembly 302 and the installing air handler assembly 302 to the rack 100as described in detail above.

In one embodiment, the storage area may be remote from the palletizedproduct warehouse, and air handler assemblies 102 and/or 302 may bedelivered as needed by transport truck or the like. For operators withseasonal businesses, such as fruit producers in Michigan or Californiafor example, a set of air handler assemblies 102 and/or 302 may bedelivered by transport truck at the time they are needed to conditionand ship freshly picked fruit. When the harvest is complete, air handlerassemblies 102 and/or 302 may be returned to a centralized location suchas a manufacturer or distributor.

4. Electrical Control and Automatic Operation

In one exemplary embodiment, air handler assemblies 102, 302 may beautomatically activated and deactivated by controller 130, shown inFIGS. 12 and 13. Controller 130 is operably connected to occupancysensor 134, which is configured and positioned to sense the presence orabsence of palletized product assembly 52 in a forward pallet bayadjacent a given air handler assembly 102 or 302. For example, sensor134 may be a pressure sensor located in the forward pallet bay, a lightsensor located within the enclosure of air handler assembly 102 (asillustrated), a reed switch or other proximity sensor operably connectedto swing seal 40, or any other suitable sensor. The same sensorarrangement may also be used in conjunction with air handler assembly302 in the same manner as described herein. When sensor 134 senses thepresence of palletized product assembly 52 adjacent the air handlerassembly served by sensor 134, an “occupied” signal is generated bysensor 134 and transmitted to controller 130. Controller 130 isprogrammed to activate the air handler 126, such as by powering motor132 of fan 126 (FIG. 13), in response to the occupied signal from sensor134. In an exemplary embodiment, controller 130 may be operablyconnected to a plurality of sensors 134 positioned throughout the arrayof pallet bays within rack 100, and may individually and selectivelyactivate or deactivate the air handler 126 for each individual bay basedon the presence or absence of palletized product assembly 52 within thatbay.

Controller 130 may automatically initiate a forced air flow throughpalletized product assembly 52 upon loading such assembly into a forwardpallet bay, thereby ensuring that heat transfer or other airflowfunctions are automatically performed by virtue of the palletizedproduct assembly 52 being positioned in the pallet bay. Similarly,controller 130 may be programmed to cease the force air flow throughpallet assembly 52 by deactivating air handler 126 when palletizedproduct assembly 52 is absent from the adjacent bay. This “automatic”deactivation saves energy and reduces operational costs.

Turning to FIG. 12 another sensor 134A may be provided in connectionwith swing seal 40 for sensing the presence or absence of palletizedproduct assembly 52 in a forward pallet bay adjacent a given air handlerassembly 102 or 302. In particular, sensor 134A may be a rotation sensorwhich is activated as swing seal 40 is pivoted from a vertical position(as shown in FIG. 12) to an angled position along pivot direction S(FIG. 14) by interaction with an abutting palletized product assembly52. Alternatively, sensor 13 log h4A may be a positional sensing switchactivated by a surface of swing seal 40, or a hall-effect sensoractivated by the nearby presence of the steel material of swing seal 40,for example.

Another sensor which may be employed to sense the presence or absence ofpalletized product assembly 52 in a forward pallet bay adjacent a givenair handler assembly 102, 302 may be provided in the form of a pair ofpressure sensors 133A, 133B shown in FIG. 14. As illustrated, an outletpressure sensor 133A may be provided in the flow path of outlet air AO,or more generally within a sealed plenum receiving outlet air AO andadjacent a particular pallet bay to be monitored. An inlet pressuresensor 133B may similarly be provided in the flow path of inlet air AI,or more generally in the ambient air from which the inlet airflow AI isdrawn. Sensors 133A, 133B provide output signals to controller 130respectively indicative of the pressure of outlet air AO (or the ambientpressure within the sealed plenum and adjacent the pallet bay beingmonitored) and inlet air AI (or the ambient air near rack 100 from whichinlet air AI is drawn).

When palletized product assembly 52 is present in a given bay, adifferential between the outlet and inlet pressures registered bysensors 133A and 133B will be detected as a result of the pressure dropresulting from air impedance presented by palletized product assembly52. Based on empirical data for a given application, a range of pressuredrops associated with the presence of palletized product assembly 52 maybe programmed in controller 130, and controller 130 may then compare themeasured pressure drop against the programmed range. When the measuredpressure drop is within the range (or, in some cases, remains within therange for a predetermined amount of time), controller 130 determinesthat palletized product assembly 52 is present in the adjacent bay andissues a signal to continue activation of fan 126. When the measuredpressure drop falls below the range (or remains below the range for apredetermined period of time), controller 130 determines that palletizedproduct assembly 52 is not sealingly engaged with opening 136 or isotherwise is not properly seated within the adjacent bay. Controller 130then issues a signal or notification, such as a “red light” notificationas detailed below, so that the system operator may adjust the seating ofpalletized product assembly 52 or otherwise troubleshoot theinstallation.

Yet another sensor may be provided in the form of temperature sensors135A and 135B, shown in FIG. 14. A first temperature sensor 135A may beplaced in the flow of outlet air AO or in the general vicinity of theair discharged from fan 126 (e.g., within a sealed plenum adjacent rack100, if provided). A second temperature sensor 135B is placed in theflow of inlet air AI, or in the general ambient conditioned air withinwarehouse 2 containing rack 100. Sensors 135A, 135B provide outputsignals to controller 130 indicative of the temperature of outlet air AOand inlet air AI, respectively.

As the temperature of the product contained in palletized productassemblies 52 is undergoing adjustment (e.g., cooling from a warm state,freezing from a non-frozen state, thawing from a frozen state or heatingfrom a cooled state), a temperature differential will be registered bycontroller 130 because the temperature of the ambient air which providesthe inlet flow AI will be different from the temperature of the product,which in turn raises or reduces the temperature of the outlet flow AO.As the temperature of the product contained in palletized productapproaches the temperature of the ambient air, however, this temperaturedifferential will gradually reduce and eventually be eliminated.Controller 130 may monitor this temperature differential and comparesuch differential to a threshold, which may be a small nominaldifference such as between 0.1-6.0 degrees Fahrenheit, for example. Whenthe differential reaches the threshold (or, in some cases, remains belowthe threshold for a predetermined amount of time, such as severalminutes), controller 130 may determine that the palletized productassembly 52 (or multiple assemblies 52) near one sensors 135A hasreached its target temperature, and may therefore deactivate fan 126 inorder to reduce ongoing energy usage.

Moreover, any combination of the sensors described herein may beprovided in conjunction with controller 130, as required or desired fora particular application. For example, temperature sensors may becombined with presence/absence sensors so that the presence or absenceof palletized product assembly 52 within a particular bay of rack 100 isknown, and the relative state of heat transfer to the product within thecases 22 contained therein is simultaneously known. In addition to thesensor or suite of sensors providing signals to controller 130 forcontrol over fan 126 and/or air handler(s) 8, controller may beprogrammed to periodically review the signal(s) received and reassesswhether any action is needed on the basis of such signal(s). Forexample, controller 130 may have a “check interval” timer which, uponcompletion of a countdown, checks for the designated temperaturedifferential, pressure differential, and/or activation ofpresence/absence sensor(s). Adjustments to operating parameters, such asactivation or deactivation of fan 126 and/or air handler 8, may beperformed per the programming of controller 130 (as described above).After such adjustments, the check interval timer may initiate a newcountdown to the next check of sensor signals. While the time iscounting down, controller 130 may ignore any changes of sensor signals.This operating modality, and the nominal time value for the check sensortimer, may be used to avoid “hunting” or unsteady behavior in theoutputs of controller 130. In one embodiment, the check sensor timer isset at an interval between 1 and 3 minutes, such as about 2 minutes.

In addition to control over fan 126, air handler 8 and other systemsassociated with racking 100, controller 130 may also be provided tooutput notifications based on the status of the sensor or suite ofsensors being monitored. For example, when a temperature differentialderived from temperature sensors 135A, 135B (FIG. 14), reaches athreshold which indicates that the heat transfer operation (e.g.,freezing, thawing, chilling or heating) is complete, controller 130 mayoutput an “operation done” notification to the system operator.Similarly, controller 130 may output an “occupied” or “non-occupied”signal to indicate whether palletized product assembly 52 within aparticular bay of rack 100 is present in any or all of the bays of rack100.

In one exemplary embodiment, a set of changeable signals, such asmulticolored lights, may be provided to output a succinct notificationfrom controller 130 as to the state of the adjacent bay of racking 100and its contents. For example, a green light on a given bay of rack 100may be used to indicate that palletized product assembly 52 is present,and that the heat transfer operation is complete. A yellow light mayindicate that palletized product assembly 52 is present, but the heattransfer operation is underway and not yet complete. A red light mayindicate that palletized product assembly 52 is not present, and/or afault condition has been detected (e.g., fan 126 is not functional, oneor more sensors is not functional, etc.). Such lights may also beself-contained as a part of air handler assemblies 102 or 302. Referringto FIG. 17, for example, lights 140 and 142 may be provided along thebottom of frame 304 to provide a readily viewable indicator pertinent tothe assembly 302 to which they are attached.

As noted above, a set of air handler assemblies 102 and/or 302 may bedelivered to a site for activation at a time of need, and later removedfrom the site when the need has passed. To facilitate rapid set up andtakedown of such a modular collection of air handler assemblies, eachassembly 102, 302 may be electrically connectable to a neighboringassembly 102, 302 in a “daisy chain” style. For example, each assembly102, 302 may include a junction box or similar electrical inlet at oneside of frame 104 (e.g., one of the left or right side when facingairflow aperture 136, 336) and a corresponding outlet on the other side(e.g., the other of the left or right side when facing airflow aperture136, 336). Cords may be provided to connect the electrical inlet of oneassembly 102, 302 to the electrical outlet of a neighboring assembly102, 302. This creates an electrical connection between the twoneighboring assemblies 102, 302 which enables power-up or power-down ofboth assemblies 102, 302 based on a common command from controller 130,which may plug into the inlet at the end unit of the collection ofassemblies 102, 302. In this way, a series of interconnected air handlerassemblies 102, 302 may be provided with a common controller 130, andany number of assemblies 102, 302 may be provided according to therequirements of the application at hand.

Further, such a series of air handler assemblies 102, 302 may beprovided at various locations, such as a series for each of multiplevertical levels along rack 100 (FIG. 10), or a series for each of acollection of racks 100 (FIG. 10). At the end of each series ofinterconnected air handler assemblies 102, 302, a connection may be madefrom controller 130 for individual control over each series, or a commonelectrical connection may be made for one or more series (e.g., via abusbar) for common control over multiple series.

While this disclosure has been described as having exemplary designs,the present invention can be further modified within the spirit andscope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended tocover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure using itsgeneral principles. Further, this application is intended to cover suchdepartures from the present disclosure as come within known or customarypractice in the art to which this disclosure pertains and which fallwithin the limits of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pallet rack assembly comprising: a pallet rackhaving a plurality of bays, each bay having: a bay width sized toreceive a palletized product assembly including a pallet with aplurality of stacked cases received thereon; a bay height sized toreceive the palletized product assembly; and a bay depth sized toreceive at least two of the palletized product assembly, such that eachbay defines a rearward bay and a forward bay sized to receive thepalletized product assembly; and a modular air handler assembly receivedin at least one of the plurality of bays, the air handler assemblycomprising: an enclosure having a first airflow aperture facing towardthe forward bay and a second airflow aperture facing away from theforward bay, the first airflow aperture of the enclosure sized to besubstantially or completely blocked by the palletized product assemblywhen the palletized product assembly is positioned in the forward bay;and an air handler in fluid communication with the second airflowaperture of the enclosure, such that the air handler is operable todrive air through the palletized product assembly via the first airflowaperture when the air handler is activated.
 2. The pallet rack assemblyof claim 1, further comprising an air chamber disposed rearwardly of therearward bay, the air handler oriented and configured to drive airbetween the air chamber and the enclosure.
 3. The pallet rack assemblyof claim 2, wherein the pallet rack comprises a first pallet rack, theassembly further comprising a second pallet rack disposed on an oppositeside of the air chamber as compared to the first pallet rack, whereby aplurality of the modular air handlers may drive air between the firstand second pallet racks and the air chamber.
 4. The pallet rack assemblyof claim 1, wherein: the second airflow aperture of the enclosure has anupright orientation; the second airflow aperture of the enclosure has anangled orientation relative to the horizontal and upright directions;and the air handler comprises a fan disposed in the second airflowaperture, such that that the fan is positioned to drive air into or outof the enclosure along an angled airflow direction having bothhorizontal and vertical vector components.
 5. The pallet rack assemblyof claim 4, wherein the enclosure comprises: a base enclosure panelhaving a substantially horizontal orientation; a pair of side enclosurepanels having a substantially upright orientation, the pair of sideenclosure panels respectively joined to the base enclosure panel; and atleast one rear enclosure panel joined to the base enclosure panel andthe pair of side enclosure panels, the rear enclosure panel having theangled orientation of the second airflow aperture, the first airflowaperture formed between the base enclosure panel and the pair of sideenclosure panels, and the second airflow aperture formed in the rearenclosure panel.
 6. The pallet rack assembly of claim 5, wherein theenclosure further comprises a swing seal pivotably joined to theenclosure about a substantially horizontal axis, the swing seal disposedin the first airflow aperture between the pair of side enclosure panelsand spaced above the base enclosure panel such that the swing seal formsan adjustable upper boundary of the first airflow aperture.
 7. Thepallet rack assembly of claim 1, wherein the modular air handlerassembly comprises a frame assembly about the enclosure, the frameassembly comprising: a base frame comprising a pair of base uprights oneither side of the first airflow aperture, the base frame having a lowerattachment point configured for attachment to the pallet rack; and atelescoping frame comprising a pair of telescoping uprights slidablyconnected to the pair of base uprights, the telescoping frame having anattachment point configured for attachment to the pallet rack.
 8. Thepallet rack assembly of claim 7, comprising a plurality of the modularair handler assemblies, wherein: a first bay of the plurality of bayshas a first bay height, the telescoping frame of a first one of theplurality of the modular air handler assemblies adjusted to a firstframe height sized to accommodate the first bay height; and a second bayof the plurality of bays has a second bay height different from thefirst bay height, the telescoping frame of a second one of the pluralityof the modular air handler assemblies adjusted to a second frame heightsized to accommodate the second bay height.
 9. The pallet rack assemblyof claim 7, wherein the upper attachment point and the lower attachmentpoint of each of the plurality of modular air handler assemblies furtherincludes an attachment mechanism comprising: an adjuster housingdefining a longitudinal axis; a fixation slider comprising: a sliderblock slideably received within the adjuster housing along thelongitudinal axis, and a fixation arm configured to engage a framemember of the pallet rack; and a slider adjuster bearing upon theadjuster housing and engaged with the fixation slider, the slideradjuster configured to impart a sliding force to the slider which urgesthe slider to move along the longitudinal axis.
 10. The pallet rackassembly of claim 9, wherein: the fixation arm of the fixation sliderincludes an angled surface facing toward an adjacent surface of theadjuster housing such that a progressively narrowing gap is formedbetween the angled surface and the adjacent surface of the adjusterhousing, whereby a portion of the frame member of the pallet rack may bereceived within the progressively narrowing gap, and the slider adjustermay be actuated to capture the portion of the frame member within thegap.
 11. The pallet rack assembly of claim 10, wherein the telescopingframe further comprises a laterally extending upper frame member fixedto the pair of telescoping uprights, the upper frame member having abearing surface substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofthe adjuster housing and facing the fixation arm of the fixation sliderat the upper attachment point, such that the bearing surface and thefixation arm are configured to pinch a portion of the frame member ofthe pallet rack upon actuation of the slider adjuster.
 12. The palletrack assembly of claim 10, wherein the base frame further comprises alaterally extending lower frame member fixed to the pair of baseuprights, the lower frame member having a bearing surface substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the adjuster housing andfacing the fixation arm of the fixation slider at the lower attachmentpoint, such that the bearing surface and the fixation arm are configuredto pinch a portion of the frame member of the pallet rack upon actuationof the slider adjuster.
 13. The pallet rack assembly of claim 9, whereinthe slider adjuster comprises: a bolt having a threaded shaft and a bolthead, the threaded shaft received through an aperture formed in theadjuster housing and the bolt head engaging the adjuster housing aroundthe aperture; a threaded aperture formed in the slider block of thefixation slider, the threaded aperture configured to threadably receivethe threaded shaft, whereby rotation of the bolt imparts the slidingforce to the slider which urges the slider to move along thelongitudinal axis.
 14. The pallet rack assembly of claim 5, wherein theenclosure further comprises a frame having a plurality of frame membersproviding a plurality of mounting surfaces for the respective enclosurepanels, the frame forming a rectangular cuboid shape whereby multiplemodular air handler assemblies are stackable upon one another.
 15. Thepallet rack assembly of claim 14, wherein the frame further comprises apair of base support members extending downwardly away from the baseenclosure panel, the base support members sized and configured to allowforklift forks to pass between the base enclosure panel and a supportsurface.
 16. The pallet rack assembly of claim 1, further comprising: asensor positioned and configured to sense the presence of the palletizedproduct assembly in the adjacent forward bay; and a controller operablyconnected to the sensor, the controller programmed to activate the airhandler when the sensor indicates the presence of the palletized productassembly in the adjacent forward bay.
 17. An air handler assembly,comprising: an enclosure comprising a plurality of panels defining anairflow pathway between a first airflow aperture and a second airflowaperture, the plurality of panels configured to admit an airflow at oneof the first and second airflow apertures and expel the airflow at theother of the first and second airflow apertures, one of the first andsecond airflow apertures formed on a substantially upright surface ofthe enclosure, and the other of the first and second airflow aperturesformed on an angled surface of the enclosure, the angled surface havingan angled orientation relative to the horizontal and upright directions;and an air handler in fluid communication with the angled airflowaperture and operable to drive the airflow along the airflow pathwaywhen the air handler is activated.
 18. The air handler assembly of claim17, wherein the enclosure comprises: a base enclosure panel having asubstantially horizontal orientation; a pair of side enclosure panelshaving a substantially upright orientation, the pair of side enclosurepanels respectively joined to the base enclosure panel; and at least onerear enclosure panel joined to the base enclosure panel and the pair ofside enclosure panels, the rear enclosure panel having the angledorientation of the second airflow aperture, the first airflow apertureformed between the base enclosure panel and the pair of side enclosurepanels, and the second airflow aperture formed in the rear enclosurepanel.
 19. The air handler assembly of claim 18, wherein the at leastone rear enclosure panel comprises: an upright rear enclosure panelhaving a substantially upright orientation, the upright rear enclosurepanel joined to the base enclosure panel and the pair of side enclosurepanels; and an angled rear enclosure panel having the angledorientation, the angled rear enclosure panel joined to the upright rearenclosure panel and the pair of side enclosure panels, the angled rearenclosure panel having the second airflow aperture formed therein. 20.The air handler assembly of claim 19, wherein: the angled rear enclosurepanel protrudes rearwardly away from the upright rear enclosure panel,and the angled rear enclosure panel defines a width less than a width ofthe first airflow aperture formed between the side enclosure panels,whereby the angled rear enclosure panel can nest within an enclosure ofa second, adjacent air handler assembly identical to the air handlerassembly of claim
 12. 21. The air handler assembly of claim 20, whereinthe angled rear enclosure panel extends rearwardly from a plane formedby the upright rear enclosure panel, the assembly further comprising: alower rear enclosure panel extending from a rear edge of the angled rearenclosure panel forwardly to the plane formed by the upright rearenclosure panel; a pair of side-rear panels enclosing the space formedbetween the angled rear enclosure panel, the lower rear enclosure panel,and the plane formed by the upright rear enclosure panel.
 22. The airhandler assembly of claim 19, wherein the modular air handler assemblycomprises a frame assembly about the enclosure, the frame assemblycomprising: a base frame comprising a pair of base uprights on eitherside of the first airflow aperture; and a telescoping frame comprising apair of telescoping uprights slidably connected to the pair of baseuprights.
 23. The air handler assembly of claim 22, wherein theenclosure comprises: a base enclosure panel having a substantiallyhorizontal orientation and fixed to a lower portion of the base frame; apair of side enclosure panels having a substantially upright orientationand fixed to side portions of the base frame, the first airflow apertureformed between the base enclosure panel and the pair of side enclosurepanels; and a rear enclosure panel arrangement fixed to a rear portionof the base frame, the rear enclosure assembly including an angled rearpanel defining the angled surface of the enclosure, the second airflowaperture formed in the angled rear panel; and a telescoping enclosurepanel arrangement fixed to the telescoping frame and including a pair oftelescoping side panels slideably adjacent to the pair of side enclosurepanels respectively, and a telescoping rear panel slideably adjacent toat least a portion of the rear enclosure panel arrangement.
 24. The airhandler assembly of claim 19, wherein the enclosure further comprises aswing seal pivotably joined to the enclosure about a substantiallyhorizontal axis, the swing seal disposed in the first airflow aperturebetween the pair of side enclosure panels and spaced above the baseenclosure panel such that the swing seal forms an adjustable upperboundary of the first airflow aperture.
 25. The air handler assembly ofclaim 19, wherein the enclosure further comprises a frame having aplurality of frame members providing a plurality of mounting surfacesfor the respective enclosure panels, the frame forming a rectangularcuboid shape whereby multiple modular air handler assemblies arestackable upon one another.
 26. The air handler assembly of claim 25,wherein the frame further comprises a pair of base support membersextending downwardly away from the base enclosure panel, the basesupport members sized and configured to allow forklift forks to passbetween the base enclosure panel and a support surface.
 27. The airhandler assembly of claim 19, in combination with a palletized productassembly comprising a pallet and a plurality of cases supported by thepallet, the palletized product assembly engaged with the first airflowaperture.
 28. A method of effecting forced-air transfer throughpalletized product, the method comprising: loading an air handlerassembly into a rearward pallet bay of a rack assembly, such that afirst airflow aperture of the air handler assembly faces a forwardpallet bay and a second airflow aperture faces rearward of the rackassembly, with an airflow pathway formed between the first and secondairflow apertures; loading a palletized product assembly into theforward pallet bay such that the first airflow aperture is substantiallyor completely blocked by the palletized product assembly; and activatingan air handler of the air handler assembly, the air handler in fluidcommunication with the second airflow aperture such that the step ofactivating drives an airflow through the palletized product assembly andalong the airflow pathway.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein the stepof loading the palletized product assembly into the forward pallet baycomprises engaging the palletized product assembly with a pivotableswing seal disposed at an upper portion of the first airflow aperture.30. The method of claim 28, further comprising retrieving the airhandler assembly from a storage area having a plurality of stacked airhandler assemblies, before the step of loading the air handler assemblyinto the rearward pallet bay.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein: theair handler assembly further comprises an enclosure comprising aplurality of panels defining an airflow pathway between a first airflowaperture and a second airflow aperture; and the step of retrieving theair handler comprises withdrawing the air handler of the air handlerassembly from within the enclosure of an adjacent air handler assembly.32. The method of claim 28, wherein the step of loading the air handlerassembly into the rearward pallet bay is accomplished with a forklift.33. The method of claim 28, wherein the step of loading an air handlerassembly into a rearward pallet bay further comprises adjusting a heightof a frame of the air handler assembly to accommodate a height of therearward pallet bay.
 34. The method of claim 33, further comprisingattaching a lower portion of the frame to a lower frame member of therearward pallet bay, and attaching an upper portion of the frame to anupper frame member of the rearward pallet bay.
 35. The method of claim34, wherein the steps of attaching comprise actuating an attachmentmechanism to draw a slider block of the attachment mechanism intovertical and horizontal squeezing engagement with the respective lowerand upper frame members.